Robert Cummings, in full Charles Clarence Robert Orville Cummings (born June 10, 1908, Joplin, Mo., U.S.—died Dec. 2, 1990, Woodland Hills, Calif.) American actor who starred in motion pictures and television.

Robert Cummings, 1979.

Alan Light

Cummings studied at the Carnegie Institute of Technology and Drury College before assuming false identities in order to become an actor. He won his first Broadway stage role in 1931 by acquiring a British accent and calling himself Blade Stanhope Conway. He became a film actor by assuming a southern drawl and calling himself a Texan, Brice Hutchens. Under his own name, he won critical acclaim for dramatic film roles in King’s Row (1942), Saboteur (1942), The Lost Moment (1947), and Dial M for Murder (1954); films such as The Devil and Miss Jones (1941) and Princess O’Rourke (1943) revealed his flair for light satire. Altogether, he played lead roles in over 100 films.

Among Cummings’ many television appearances was a role in “Twelve Angry Men” that won him an Emmy award for best actor. His most popular role was as a playboy photographer in The Bob Cummings Show (1955–59). His book Stay Young and Vital (1962) offered advice on health.

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Barry Kane (played by Robert Cummings), a worker at an aircraft factory in California, is framed for an act of sabotage that killed his friend. When authorities refuse to believe his story that the real culprit is a German spy going by the name of Frank Fry (Norman Lloyd), Kane escapes from police custody. He undertakes a cross-country chase to catch Fry, and along the way he is joined by a...